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OLIVER FORWARD. 



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LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 



OLIVER FORWARD 



Read Before the Buffalo Historical Society, 
January 25, 1875. 



BY 

Hon. JAMES SHELDON, 

. President. 



BUFFALO: 
PRESS OP WARREN, JOHNSON & CO. 

18 75. 



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OLIVER FORWARD. 



Tin Buffalo Historical Society, in the prose- 
cution of its work of gathering all the facts 
having relation to the early history of our city 
and generally to the region of western New 
York and the great lakes, have directed a 
memorial of the life and public services of 
Oliver Forward to be compiled, not only that 
their record may exist in some authentic form, 
Imt asajusl recognition of his valuable labors 
The lives of men who have rendered important 
services to their generation and by their devo- 
tion to the public good have aided to accom- 
plish beneficial results should he home in 
grateful and enduring remembrance. Too 
often the applause of men is given, with un- 
sparing hand, to those who were incited to 
action, solely by selfish considerations and with- 
held from more deserving objects of approba- 
tion, whose highest ambition was to advance 
the interests of their age. It is the duty of the 
impartial historian to render to each the pro- 
per meed of honor, and if time and circum- 
stance have contributed to induce forget fulness 
ot merit, it well becomes us to review the 
records of the past and award the just measure 
of our commendation. 

Samuel Forward, the great-grand-father of 
the object of this memoir, emigrated from Eng- 
land before the year 1700, and with his wife 
settled at Windsor, Ct. They brought with 
them those stern virtues and characteristics of 
their parent land which enabled them, with 
the men of their time to triumph over the trou- 
bles and hardships endured in the settlement 
of the wilderness, and which, in the long line 
of their descendents, have been, upon many oc- 
casions, so greatly manifested. Their son Abel, 
was born in 1710, and died at EastGranby, Ct., 
in L798, leaving a large family of children, of 
whom Samuel, who was the sixth child, was 
born .May 1st. 17o2, and settled at East Gran by, 
where he resided until June, 1803. At this 
time In 1 sold his possessions at that place and 
emigrated to Aurora, in the state of Ohio. He 
went overland with all his family, consisting of 
himself, his wife, his son Samuel with his wife 
and children,* his other children, Walter, Julia, 
Chauncey, Renssalaer, his son Oliver's wife 
and David Loomis, conveyed in two large 
wagons, one drawn by a span of horses, the 
other by two yoke of" oxen and a horse in the 
lead, one saddle horse and two cows. Thus the 
train was made up and with them 
they took farming utensils, domestic arti- 
cles and provisions. They reached 
Aurora July 27. 1803, having been forty-eight 
days on the route which is now traveled in half 
as many hours, and found his son Oliver there, 
and three hired men, who had gone there the 
previous February to prepare for them. A 



clearing had been made and a log house erect- 
ed, and the pioneer, with his family around 
him, began the great work of aiding in the de- 
velopment of the mighty west. Such men, the 
inheritors of sterling and manly New England 
virtues, were the very ones to plant the graces 
of our civilization and the republicanism of our 
institutions upon the virgin soil of the north- 
western territory, lie died in 1821, having 
tilled many positions of Importance, among 
them, that of judge of Portage county; Ins 
counsel always being influential and hi- charac- 
ter entitling him to universal respect. 

Oliver Forward was born in December. 1780, 
and married Sally Granger of Sutlield, Conn. 
He settled at Aurora, Ohio, in the spring of 
1803, and resided there probably about six 
years and then through the influenc of his 
brother-in-law, Erastus Granger of Buffalo, he 
moved to this place about the year 1809. Judge 
Granger at that time tilled the' position of post- 
master and collector of customs at Buffalo, and 
agent for the Indian tribes in western New York, 
lie had before that settled here, and took up a 
large tract of land, now, in part, embraced 
in Forest Lawn and the Park, and resided 
until his death, at what was known 
as Flint Hill, a little west of the stone house 
erected in latter years by his son, our esteemed 
fellow-citizen, Warren Granger. Judge For- 
ward immediately assumed the duties of deputy 
eollecter and assistant postmaster, which were 
of much importance, as this place was the great 
distributing office of the frontier. He was also 
appointed and acted as justice of the peace. 

In 1811, Charles Townsend and George Coit, 
honorable names in the history of our city, 
came here as traders, bringing about twenty 
tons of merchandise— a heavy stock for that 
time — which was boated from Schenectady on 
the .Mohawk river, carried across the short 
Portage to Wood creek and thence Soated to Os- 
wego and to Lewiston, carted around the Falls 
to Schlosser,and thence brought in boats up the 
Niagara river to Buffalo. Judge Townsend 
furnished a paper before his death, from which 
the following facts in regard to the village at 
that early day are extracted. "In 1811, Buffalo 
contained less than one hundred dwellings and 
a population of some four or live hundred. The 
only public buildings were the old stone 
jail on Washington street and an unfinished 
wooden court house. A small wooden 
building, built and claimed by Doctor 
Cyrenius Uhapin, near the southwesl cor- 
nel- of Pearl and Swan streets, put up for a 
school-house, served also as a town hall, a 
church for all religious denominations, and in- 
deed for all public purposes. Three taverns were 
kept,one bj Joseph Laudon,on Exchange street 



and occupying a part of the site of tbe Mansion 
House ; another of more moderate pretensions 
at the corner of Main and Seneca streets, by 
Raphael Cook, and the third by Gamaliel St. 
John, near the corner of Main and Court 
streets. The only merchants were Juba 
Storrs & Co., Grosvenor & Heacock, Eli Hart 
and Isaac Davis; the first being located on the 
northwest corner of Washington and Exchange 
streets, and the others on Main, between South 
Division and Exchange streets. A mail from 
Albany, brought once or twice a week in a 
wooden spring lumber wagon, was opened by 
Oliver Forward, a justice of the peace. Judge 
Granger held the office of postmaster, ami also 
that of collector of the port; the latter an 
office rather of honor than of business or profit. 
The commerce of the lakes was small. I think 
(says Judge Townsend) there were only four or 
five small vessels on our side, and two or three 
merchantmen, besides two British armed ves- 
sels on the other. There was no harbor here. 
The mouth of the Buffalo creek was usually so 
much obstructed by a sand-bar that small ves- 
sels could but rarely enter, and even canoes 
were sometimes shutout, and footmen walked 
dry shod across the mouth. Vessels were 
loaded and unloaded at a wharf near Bird 
Island, at Black Rock." 

Before 1811 Judge Forward had built a small 
one-story wooden dwelling on Pearl street, in 
the rear of what is now No. 102, where he re- 
sided, and in a small addition thereto carried on 
the post-office and the business of collector of 
customs as the deputy of Judge Granger. This 
was the central part of the village, where the 
news from all parts of the world was received 
and disseminated. He continued thus to 
act and live until the British and Indians, 
on the 30th day of December, 1813, burned the 
place and massacred the defenseless women and 
children. The post-office was removed to 
Judge Granger's residence where the public 
business was transacted until the following 
spring, when iUbecame safe for the scattered 
inhabitants to return to the village. As soon as 
possible in the year 1814 Judge Forward com- 
menced the erection of a new dwelling on 
Pearl street. It was a double two-story brick 
house, and was considered the most elegant res- 
idence in the place. The northern portion of it 
is yet standing, being the parlor of the house 
No. 102 Pearl street,' the hall of which is of 
comparatively recent erection. In this part of 
his residence the post-office was established and, 
as Judge Granger had before this resigned the 
position of collector, to which Judge Forward 
succeeded, the business of collector of customs 
was also transacted there. For many years he 
was also the treasurer of Niagara county, be- 
fore Erie county was organized, and in the 
performance of the duties of these positions of 
trust he manifested the greatest integrity. 

The village of Buffalo was incorporated by 
the legislature in April, 1813, and Eli Hart, 
Zenas'W. Barker, Ebenezer Walden, Oliver 
Forward and Cyrenus Chapin were the trust- 
ees nominated by the act. On the 11th of April. 
1817, he was appointed one of the judges ol 
Niagara county, which position he held many 
years. The original commission, in my posses- 
sion, appoints Oliver forward, Charles Town- 
send, Samuel Wilkinson, Gideon Frisby and 



Samuel Russel judges of the county of Niagara, 
and among the justices for the territory of 
what is now Erie' county appear the names ot 
James Cronk, afterwards sheriff, Joshua Hen- 
shaw and Jonathan Bowen, of Willink; Seth 
Abbott and Silas Patrick, of Hamburgh; Amos 
Smith and John Hill, of Eden ; Frederick Rich- 
mond, of Concord; James Sheldon, Ezra St. 
John and Alexander Hitchcock, of Buffalo, and 
Otis R. Hopkins, of Clarence, men who were 
prominently identified with the early history of 
our county. 

For many years Judge Forward was a 
director of the Bank of Niagara, and at one 
time was called upon by all interested in the 
bank to take the position of Cashier, which he 
accepted, the expectation being that his name 
and influence might in some way retrieve the 
fortunes of that institution. 

Early in 1817, Judge Forward, then being col- 
lector of the port, was authorized by the treas- 
ury department to purchase a site for a light 
house, and after some negotiations with Joseph 
Ellicott, the agent of the Holland Land Com- 
pany, selected the point where the residence of 
I he light-house keeper now stands.that being at 
the time, as stated in the correspondence, near 
the outlet of Buffalo creek. The price paid 
was $350, which was advanced by him in order 
to hasten the negotiation, and contracts were 
let for the building of the light-house and an 
adjacent building for the residence of the keep- 
er." His letter of December 2(5, 1818, to the de- 
partment, states that in obedience to directions 
received by him, he had notified Mr. John E. 
Skaats of lus appointment as keeper, and that 
in pursuance thereof he had taken charge of it 
without a moment's delay. He also adds that 
the light-house and building were completed on 
the first of the preceding November, and as a 
light was at that time an important aid in navi- 
gating the lake, he had employed Mr. George 
W. Fox to take charge until a keeper was ap- 
pointed. These incidents are only mentioned 
as being matters of local history, of sufficient 
moment to be recorded. 

The project of a grand canal to unite the 
waters of Lake Erie with those of the Hudson 
river at Albany, began in those years to receive 
universal attention. The citizens of Buffalo, 
at an early day, appreciated the importance ot 
their village with reference to its being the 
proper and natural western terminus of the 
canal. Naturally enough, they looked forward 
with solicitude to the accomplishment of this 
event, which would render this place the em- 
porium of the west. After the determination 
of the state authorities that the canal should be 
constructed, ami which was not arrived at un- 
til after a struggle, great and powerful influ- 
ences, not only in the canal board, but of some 
of the most "distinguished politicians on the 
frontier, were at work to locate the termina- 
tion at Black Rock. That seemed to be the 
place designed by nature, being the very out- 
let of the lakes arid so situated upon the Niagara 
river that a safe and commodious harbor, when 
reached, was provided for all the commerce 
that could ever float upon our inland seas. This 
view was taken by many disinterested persons 
in authority and strongly urged by Peter B. 
Porter and others who had made large invest- 
ments at Black Rock and whose political influ- 



ence was commanding. The only way the 
argument could be met was by actual demon- 
stration that a harbor, easier of access and 
equally commodious could, be created at Buf- 
falo. It uiust be remembered that the mouth 
of Buffalo creek was generally closed by a bar 
of sand and vessels never entered but received 
and discharged their cargoes from lighters. 
Few believed that any means could be devised 
whereby an entrance could be created which 
could be relied upon for durability, and if this 
was so, no reasonable hope could be entertained 
that the canal would he extended to this point. 
The history of that crisis, in which the subject 
of our memoir was so conspicuous an actor, has 
been told in the sketches furnished by .Indue 

Wilkinson to the Buffalo Commercial Adver- 
tiser, the main features of which will more 
faithfully relate it than the effort of anyone 
now living. 

In April. ISIS, at the instance of the citizens 
of Buffalo, an act of the legislature was passed 
authorizing the survey of the creuk at the ex- 
pense of tiie county of Niagara, which then 
embraced it, with reference to determining the 
feasibility of constructing a harbor, and 
William Peacock made the survey in the follow- 
ing summer, gratuitously. Although the re- 
port was favorable, neither tin' general govern- 
ment nor the state would assume the work. 
Bnt the latter, in 1819, by law agreed to loan 
$12,000 tor its construction on being secured by 
bond and mortgage for its re-payment. 

Oliver Forward, Charles Townsend, George 
Coit and Samuel Wilkeson gave the requisite 
security in the fore part of IS-JO, and the pier 
was forthwith commenced. It was prosecuted 
and finished under the supervision of Judge 
Wilkeson m 1821, in 221 working days, and ex- 
tended into the lake for about eighty rods into 
twelve foot water. Every person in the place 
seems to have been agitated by, and to have 
participated in the projected improvement, and 
it was carried forward earnestly and with that 
rare determination which bends to no adverse 
circumstances and always wins success or glory. 
Discouragements clustered aroundthem in vain. 
It seems mavellous that such an undertaking 
was persevered in amid the jeers of neighbors 
and the buftets of adversity by the people oi 
an inconsiderable town, who were not aided by 
experience, nor stimulated by the eye of gen- 
eral observation. The narrative is worthy oi 
DeFoe. The make-shifts and substitutes 
for the unattainable machinery they needed 
were most ingenious. And though "they en- 
countered gravel where sand only was sup- 
posed to be, and storms often jeopardized and 
sometimes nearly destroyed their labors, they 
were not to be deterred. And when all seemed 
successfully completed, the first steamboat of 
the lakes, the Walk-in-t he-water, having been 
lost, and her owners having determined to 
build the second,— the old Suverior, — the build- 
ing of it was nearly secured to Black Bock and 
lost to Buffalo, and was gained for the latter 
only by the giving of a stringent judgment 
bund by nearly all its responsible citi tens, c< u- 
ditioned to pay to the steamboat company One 
hundred and fifty dollars for every (lay's deten- 
tion of the boat in the creek after thelstof 
May, by harbor obstruction. The boat was 
built in our creek in 1822, and ready to enter 



the lake in the spring of 1823. The completion 
of the harbor, sm-h as it was, had given force 
to the general considerations in favor 

of continuing the canal to Buffalo, 
and the decision of the canal board 

to that effect was published in the report of 
L823, to the great joy of its careworn and 
anxious inhabitants. But their joy was damped 
and they were suddenly summoned to a re- 
newal of their labors. The spring freshet, 
which was to perfect the harbor entrance by 
expelling all obstructions and so give egress to 
the Superior, encountered a huge body of 
anchored ice and being repelled by it, formed 
an eddy and whirled large beds of sand and 
gravel into the channel, reducing its depth to 
three feet and a half for a full hundred yards. 
And yet, on the first day of .May, the voluntary 
subscriptions and exertions of the citizens had 
reopened it, and the Superior Boated through 
into the lake; the bond was cancelled, and the 
title of Buffalo to consideration as the future 
great city of the lakes was first established. 

Before this was accomplished it was evident 
that some master mind must be selected to rep- 
resent our village in the councils of the stale 
at Albany, and in 1819 Oliver Forward was 
elected to the assembly as a d< legate from the 
district containing Chautauqua, Cattaraugus 
and Niagara counties, in which latter Erie 
county was then embraced, lie entered the 
house at a period of great political excitement. 
The project of the Erie canal was not then 
fully determined and was opposed by the ele- 
ments then arrayed with such bitter hostility to 
De Witt Clinton, the friend and champion of 
the measure. Judge Forward, as was expected, 
sustained the canal policy with great zeal and 
influence and with that effective and patient 
policy which was characteristic of his nature, 
lie was the compeer of great men in that re- 
markable session. John C. Spencer was speaker 
and such men as Elisha Williams, of Hud- 
son; Peter Schuyler, of Albany ; Erastus 
Root, of Delaware; Abraham Bockes and 
Thomas J. Oakley, of Dutchess; Nathaniel 
Merriam, of Lewis; Jonas Earll, Jr., of Onon- 
daga, and John A. King, of Queens, renowned 
as statesmen and orators and jurists, exercised 
commanding influence. Not only in the legis- 
lature was Judge Forward enabled to sustain 
the canal policy with success, but he labored 
with the officers of state and with all nun 
whose support was of moment. His corres- 
pondence reached all quarters, freighted with/ 
arguments and persuasions, such as a man of 
superior intellect and a judicial turn of mind 
could adduce in favor of the great work, and his 
record was of such a character that his consti- 
tuents determined to retain him at Albany, 
and he was elected senator in the spring of 1820. 
Then came the session of the senate in the 
fall of 1820 and the sessions of 1821 and 1822, 
during which he maintained a conspicuous po- 
sition and faithfully accomplished the great ob- 
jects of his mission, [tisnottoo much to say 
of his course in the state legislature, that upon 
every occasion he was found to be the warm 
supporter of all measures thai appeared to be 
for the general public good and which promot- 
ed the cause of morality and education and the 
interests of the indust rial elates. .More effec- 
tual as a writer than as a debater, hi- sound 



judgment and the power of urging his opinions 
made his counsels influential, and his great in- 
tegrity prevailed where more brilliant men 
would have met with disappointment. 

The canal board in 1823 finally decided upon 
continuing the canal to Buffalo, and when the 
harbor was completed in May of that year as 
before related, the great work of fixing the des- 
tiny of this city was accomplished. It is use- 
less to speak of our obligations to such men as 
Forward and Wilkeson, and Townsend, and 
Coit, and the other of our citizens who labored 
incessantly, and at the peril of all their prop- 
erty, to ensure that result. We acknowledge 
them with gratitude, and though the tale of 
their patient labors and untiring efforts may 
be thrice told, we should never weary in the 
recital. 

At the close of the session of 1822, on his re- 
turn to Buffalo, Judge Forward was again 
elected chahman of the board of trustees of the 
village, as a mark of confidence and respect, in 
which position he continued to exercise his 
watchful care over the growing interests of the 
place. He was reelected a trustee of the village 
at the annual elections in 1823 and 182 -t and 
chosen chairman of the board, that being the 
highest position his fellow-citizens could confer 
upon him. 

The contract for constructing the section of 
the canal from Little Buffalo creek to Black 
Bock having been entered into and preparations 
made for actually commencing the work, the 
occasion was deemed by the citizens here to be 
of so much moment that it was resolved it 
should be celebrated by proper formalities. 

Friday, the 9th day 'of August, 1822, was the 
day appointed by the contractors to commence 
their labors and on that day the citizens of our 
village and of the adjacent country united in the 
very interesting ceremonies so appropriate to 
the" occasion. They assembled at the Eagle 
tavern about nine o'clock and marched in hand- 
some order through the village, preceded by 
martial music, to the place where the canal 
was to terminate and first to. receive into its 
bosom the waters of Lake Erie. This point 
was where the Commercial street bridge now 
stands. Here the national flag was hoisted and 
a cannon planted upon an eminence at a little 
distance from the interesting spot. 

When order had been restored the Bev. Mr. 
Squires, the Presbyterian clergyman of the 
place, addressed the Throne of Grace in a 
prayer peculiarly appropriate, alter which the 
Bev. Mr. Galusha in a short but neat and ani- 
mated speech referred to the importance of the 
work then to be inaugurated, and predicted 
gnat results therefrom. Then the ceremony 
of breaking ground was performed by several 
of the olilest citizens of the place. Judge For- 
ward, as the chairman of the board of trustees 
and the representative of the village, planted 
the first spade in the earth and raised the (irsl 
soil, and then Colonel Chapin, Judge Barker 
and Judge Walden joined, after which all the 
principal citizens and many respectable stran- 
gers with plows and spades united in the com- 
mencement of the grand canal. The proces- 
sion then moved down the line of the canal 
about half a mile, where the citizens partook 
of the hospitality of the contractors, and then 
returning finally dispersed amid resounding 



cheers. A contemporary writer says that on 
this interesting occasion' all were united in the 
same interest, the same feeling, the same senti- 
ment. Clintonians and Bucktails, the Krem- 
lin aristocracy and those opposed, democrats 
and federalists, all joined hands and exchanged 
fraternal congratulations. Political feuds and 
animosities were lost in the grandeur of the 
scene, and nothing was heard but one universal 
expression of heartfelt approbation. 

In the fall of the year 1825, the canal was 
fully completed, and it only remained to dedi- 
cate it to the world by ceremonies suitable to 
the occasion. Committees of conference on the 
part of Xew York and Albany taking the lead, 
a general plan of celebration was agreed upon 
and concurred in by a conference of committees 
of Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo. An im- 
portant feature in the general arrangements 
for the celebration was the stationing of cannon 
from Buffalo to Sandy Hook to announce the 
departure of the first boat from Lake Erie to 
tide water, and answer the purpose of a con- 
tinuous salute. On the evening of the 2.">th of 
October, 1825, the entire canal from Buffalo to 
Albany was in a navigable condition. Buffalo, 
then a village of only twenty-rive hundred in- 
habitants, from its position at the head of navi- 
gation, was, of course, to lead off in the cere- 
monies, and well did the germ of a now great 
city acquit itself. The Xew York committee 
that arrived here on the evening of the 25th, 
stated in their report that they found every- 
thing in readiness for the commencement of 
the celebration. At nine o'clock on the morning 
of the 26th of October, a procession was formed 
in front of the court house. It coi sistedof the 
governor and lieutenant-governor of the state, 
the New York delegation, delegations from vil- 
lages along the whole line of the canal, various 
societies of mechanics with appropriate banners 
and citizens generally ; the whole escorted by 
the Buffalo Band and Capt. Bathbun's rifle 
company. The procession moved down Main 
street to* the head of the canal where the pioneer 
boat, the Seneca Chief, was in waiting. The 
governor and lieutenant-governor, and the 
committees, including that of Buffalo, were re- 
ceived on board. The whole, standing upon 
the deck, there were mutual introductions and 
congratulations. Jesse Hawley, in behalf of 
the Rochester committee, made a short address 
which was properly replied to by Judge For- 
ward on behalf of the authorities and citizens 
of Buffalo. All things being in readiness, the 
signal gun was fired and continuing from gun 
to gun, in succession, in one hour and twenty 
mintes the citizens of New York were apprized 
that a boat was departing from the foot of Lake 
Erie, and was on its way, traversing anew 
path to the Atlantic, ocean. The Seneca Chief 
led off in fine style drawn by four gray horses, 
fancifully caparisoned. Three boats, the Perry, 
Superior and Buffalo followed, and the fleet 
moved from the dock under a salute from the 
rifle company, accompanied by music from the 
band. The procession then moved to the court 
house where an address was delivered by Shel- 
don Smith. Esq.. and a public dinner succeeded ; 
the festivities of the day being closed by a 
splendid ball at the Eagle Tavern. 

The correspondence of Judge Forward with 
Governor Clinton and other distinguished men 



of our state, from lsis to 1826, in regard to the 
canal policy and also as to its termination here 
and as ti> our harbor, and the letters to him in 
answer, have in pari been preserved, and show 
thai he was constantly urging the fair consid- 
eration of the claims of our village and set- 
ting forth all the arguments and facts that 
could he adduced in support of those measures. 
Al this day, surrounded with all the evidences 
of wealth and civilization, one rises from the 
perusal of such papers almost with a doubl that 

it could he possible thai hut little more than 
fifty years ago the greal men of the time were 
fearful lest t he work would never he accom- 
plished. Jt seems more like some fairy tale | han 
a reality, and illustrates on every page the pat- 
riotism and devotion of those who so sueci — 
fully carried the measure to a conclusion. In 
all this correspondence it appears that Governor 
( 'linton was at all times friendly to the interests 
' of Buffalo as against Black Rock, believing 
that this point was in every way better adapt- 
ed to be tli" emporium of the lakes, and a- one 
<>f the canal board lent his powerful influence 
in support of the claims of our citizens. 

These relations of the history of the Erie 
Canal have been ajiven for the reason that the 
life and labors of Oliver Forward were for so 
many years directed to the accomplishment of 
that great work. How earnestly and with 
what self-denial he devoted his services to that 
end; hew patiently but firmly he encountered 
the determined opposition of rival and power- 
ful interests, with arguments and persuasions 
in place of invectives; with what statesman- 
like abilities he made use of political power are 
matters that have almost been forgotten in our 
generation. 

But when cotemporaneoushistorv is examin- 
ed, and the public journals of the time, and pri- 
vate papers and correspondence consulted, it 
will he found that he was one of the most 
active and influential men of his day, and con- 
tributed as much as any other to the success of 
measures which laid the foundation of the 
opulence and splendor of our city. 

In the year 1825, it will he remembered that 
General Lafayette visited this country, and was 
received as the nation's guest with the most 
distinguished consideration. He arrived at 
this piace.from the west,on the steamboat Supe- 
rior on the 4th day of June, 1825, and as Judge 
Forward was the one who addressed him on 
behalf of our citizens, it is proper to recall this 
item of local history by giving the account pub- 
lished in a paper of that time. 

"General Lafayette arrived in this village on 
Saturday, about two o'clock in the afternoon, 
and was immediately escorted to the Eagle 
Tavern by a detachment of Capt. Vosburgh's 
company of cavalry, and the Frontier guards 
under Capt. Rathbun. He was preceded by 
the committee of arrangements and his suite. 
On his arrival he was conducted with his suite, 
by the committee, to an elegant pavillion erect- 
ed in front of the house, where he was nut by 
the corporation, in whose behalf and that of the 
citizens of the village Oliver Forward, Esq., 
addressed him as follows : 

"General— In behalf of the citizens of this 
village and its vicinity. I have the honor of 
welcoming you among them, and of tendering 



you that regard which ha- been again and again 
reiterated trom the centre to the remotest ex- 
tremities of the Union. Tin- regard we are un- 
able to testifj io you amidst the splendor and 

magnificence of a state or national emporium; 
hul to you, we arc aware, it will not he less ac- 
ceptable it presented in lie- unimposing forms 
of republican simplicity. We are not less 
mindful than are the whole people of this ex- 
tended empire, of the service* Mill have ren- 
dered our common country, nor less conscious 
of the gratification the patriot and the philan- 
thropist musl feel in passing the declivities ol 
life, carrying with him the richest of all earthly 
reward, a nation's gratitude. Hul few of us 
were among those who participated with you 
in the toils and the dangers of the revolution 
which established not only the liberties of the 
confederacy, hut what the world had never be- 
fore seen, a welcome, a happy and a protected 
home for the oppressed of all nations. Bui we 
alike revere tin' memory of the brave and cher- 
ish witli the same zeal, the principles for which 
you and our fathers hied; and with all the 
grateful recollections which a love of liberty 
can inspire, of the voluntary sacrifices you 
have made in the support of her cause, we 
beg you to accept the humble tribute of our re- 
spect, in conjunction with what has been and 
will continue to be proffered, not only 1»\ *\ ery 
citizen of the American nation, but by every 
friend of liberty and of mankind."' 

It may well he questioned whether a more 
dignified and happy address was presented to 
La Fayette during his sojourn in this country. 

The narrative further states that a suitable 
reply to Judge Forward was made, and at five 
o'clock the general and company sat down to 
an excellent dinner, provided by .Mr. Rathbun, 
and the evening was spent pleasantly and the 
village handsomely illuminated. 

The last public "services of Judge Forward 
were rendered at the solicitation of tin- citizens 
of Buffalo, in connection with a revision of the 
charter. The city was organized in the spring 
of 1832, but it was soon evident that in order 
to accomplish the purposes intended of subserv- 
ing the public interest, an extension of many 
of the powers granted was needed. On behalf 
of the citizens generally a committee of fifteen 
was appointed at a meeting called to consider 
the matters in question of whom Judge For- 
ward was one as a representative from the first 
ward and the common council added live alder- 
men to the committee, lie was elected chair- 
man by common consent and the labors of the 
committee were extended through the year. 
During this time, many importanl provisions 
were originated and many revised and improv- 
ed, and a foundation laid for a charter that gave 
ample power to preserve public order, regulate 
and improve the highways and establish our 
common schools. The lasl named subject 
was one that greatly interested Judge Forward. 
One of his papers refers particularly to this 
matter and a few extracts from it may well he 
presented as an illustration of the vigor and 
terseness of his style, at the sametime illustrat- 
ing with what thoughtfulness and ability he 
considered questions of public moment. He 
says: 

'••At the request of intelligent and respecta- 
ble citizens, 1 have prepared a series of num. 



8 



bers addressed to the mayor and common coun- 
cil of the city of Buffalo, upon the subject of 
various improvements in said city and also up- 
on the subject of powers granted by the char- 
ter, which by construction may be made too 
extensive and are consequently too unguarded 
and indefinite in their character. In addition 
to this I have taken a brief "view of powers 
which should be granted by a legislative act to 
more effectually preserve public order and to 
make more extensive, permanent and accom- 
modating provisions for the support of common 
schools. That our city charter may be benefi- 
cially improved by salutary additions and im- 
provements, there can be no doubt in the mind 
of any intelligent man who will take upon him- 
self the trouble of carefully examining its pro- 
visions, and after a full consideration of the 
subject I have no doubt that, without adding 
to the public burdens, a city fund may be pro- 
vided for the education of the poor in common 
schools which should be under the control ot 
the city authorities. I cannot forbear remark- 
ing I luit the subject of common schools is one 
of vital importance to the interests of the whole 
community. In them, the children of the poor 
are educated — indeed they are general sources 
of early instruction, and upon them will de- 
pend in a great measure the morals and the in- 
telligence of each succeeding generation." 

But the time had almost come when the labors 
of Oliver Forward were to cease. In the summer 
of 1832 he suffered from an attack of cholera, 
and never recovered his physical strength, but 
gradually failed until he died in April 183$,^ 
thus closing a life which had been almost en- 
tirely devoted to the public service. 

Mrs. Forward died in December, 1831, and ot 
several children one only is now living — Mrs. 
Julia M. Sterling — who married Mr. Ambrose 
S. Sterling, a former merchant of this city. 
Several of the brothers of Judge Forward have 
been distinguished in our national councils. 
Walter Forward, of Pittsburg, was well 
known as one of the first lawyers of his state, 
and served his constituents as a representative 
in congress in 1822. In 1837 he bore a promi- 
nent part in the Pennsylvania convention to 
reform the state constitution. In March, 1811, 
President Harrison named him first comptrol- 
ler of the treasury, which post he held until he 
was appointed secretary of the treasury by 
President Tyler. On retiring from that po- 
sition he resumed his practice at the bar until 
appointed by President Taylor as minister to 
Denmark, and on his return home was made 
president judge of the district court, which of- 
fice he held at the time of his death in 1852. 

Chauncey Forward was born Feb. 4, 1793 
and went to Pittsburgh about 1809 with his 
brother Walter where he was educated and be- 
came a lawyer and settled at Somerset, Pa. He 



was a member of the state legislature and also 
of congress for three terms from 1825 to 1831. 
One of his daughters married Hon. Jeremiah S. 
Black, who was the attorney-general during 
the administration of President Buchanan, 
lb issalear and Dryden, two younger brothers, 
were educated for the bar, and gave great 
promise of future excellence, but untimely 
deaths prevented the realization of the high 
hopes entertained by their friends. 

In preparing this memorial, use has been 
made of the contemporary newspapers, which 
are generally reliable in their statements of 
facts, and of Turner's history of the Holland 
purchase, as well as a remarkably well-written 
paper compiled by the lamented (5uy H. Salis- 
bury contained in the directory of 1847. Par- 
ticular obligation is due to Rev. James Rem- 
ington of Lancaster, in this county, the father 
of our county clerk, who was the brother-in- 
law of Judge Forward and intimately associated 
with him from about the year 1811, for many 
years in the discharge of the duties of the pub- 
lic offices held by him, and who has furnished 
many particulars of which no record existed. 

In person, Judge Forward was of medium 
stature but portly, of grave and dignified pres- 
ence, one whose imposing appearance would 
have been marked in any assembly of men. 
His mind was judicial in its tone and character; 
always calm and temperate, dealing with facts 
and seeking by logical methods to convince 
others; modest as to self-assertion, but firm 
and resolute in seeking the ends and purposes 
he knew were right and justifiable. Above all 
he bad that mastery of those with whom he 
became associated, which compelled acquies- 
cence in his opinions, and the gift of wisely 
marshaling the abilities of others who joined 
with him in the prosecution of important pur- 
poses. He guided the energies of one and 
availed himself of the acquirements of another; 
the learning of one and the influence of another 
were made to contribute to success, while all 
looked to him for wise and prudent counsel. 

The life of Oliver Forward is but another il- 
lustration of the fact that it is to circumstances 
beyond his control more than to his own works 
that a man is generally indebted for his posi- 
tion and for the character of the memories that 
survive him. Had he laid the foundation of a 
fortune in this city, and died, surrounded by a 
large circle of descendants and relatives who 
now worthily represented his name and wealth, 
how much a larger place in public remembrance 
would he have filled. Let us not withhold the 
due tributes of respect and gratitude. Rather 
let us, by the memorial of his life, preserve the 
just record of his fame, so that his name and 
acts and deeds, so indissolubly connected with 
our welfare and prosperity, may continue to be 
the objects of public regard. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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